Daniel Healy

Since its inception, each month LHCP has honored a military service member who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Every box which is shipped from LHCP is labeled with information about the Honoree. The monthly Honoree’s story is attached to the box so others can read about those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. This month’s Honoree is Navy Senior Chief Information Systems Technician (SEAL) Daniel R. Healy.

“No one left behind” – a hallmark of the Navy’s special operations teams (as well as military units in general). Often said, SCPO Daniel Healy willingly sacrificed his life in an attempt to save his fellow Navy Seals in the mountains of Afghanistan (as outlined in the book “Lone Survivor” by his teammate, Marcus Luttrell).

Yesterday, there was a dedication ceremony in Exeter, NH (where Dan grew up) where the town unveiled a monument to his memory and renamed their community pool and a nearby bridge to his honor:

Four members of his team were ambushed; he insisted that he be on the rescue mission. Eight of his fellow Seals onboard the helicopters, as well as the Army NightStalkers that staffed them, lost their lives.

John 15:13 says:

Greater love has no man than this – that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Daniel had a young family that loved him; he didn’t have to go. But he knew that he was needed and showed us all a lesson that many tritely say “freedom isn’t free”. Sometimes, it takes self-responsibility to preserve that freedom; you cannot have the latter without the former. He showed that self-responsibility can sometimes demand “giving all”.
Healy was part of a dedicated team fighting the Taliban, a fundamentalist regime that a U.S.-led coalition knocked from power in Afghanistan in 2001, but has continued to conduct guerilla operations, particularly along the Pakistan border. Healy worked to help ensure al Qaeda terrorists could not train in, nor launch strikes from Afghanistan since their lethal attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.

Daniel Healy enlisted in the Navy in 1990 and graduated from BUD/S in 1992. He was assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE (SDVT-1) from 1992 – 1996, followed by a year of intensive language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA. Healy next served at SEAL Delivery Team TWO, before returning to SDVT-1 in Pearl Harbor, HI, where he led a training platoon.

In March 2005, Healy deployed to Afghanistan. He died along with seven other SEALs and 8 Army “Nightstalker” commandos when their MH-47D Chinook helicopter was shot down during a mission to rescue a four-man SEAL reconnaissance team in Kunar Province on June 28, 2005.

Lieutenant Michael Murphy, Matthew Axelson, and Danny Dietz fought on courageously, providing protective fire for their fourth squad member to escape, before being killed in the fierce firefight by overwhelming Taliban forces with superior firepower.

A total of 11 SEALs died that day in the Global War against Terror, in the biggest single loss of life for Naval Special Warfare forces since World War II. To a man, these SEALs embodied the Navy’s core values of Honor, Courage and Commitment, and took care of their teammates to the last.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel R. Healy, 36, of Exeter, N.H. assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team One, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He was killed while conducting combat operations when the MH-47 helicopter that they were aboard crashed in the vicinity of Asadabad, Afghanistan in Kumar Province on June 28. Dan is survived by his wife, Norminda; his seven children, parents, Natalie and Henry; sisters, Jennifer and Shannon. He died while conducting combat operations when the MH-47 helicopter that he was aboard crashed in the vicinity of Asadabad, Afghanistan in Kumar Province.

Dan Healy was born on July 17, 1968, in Exeter, New Hampshire. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1990 and after completing basic training he attended Information Technician School, and then entered Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training in January 1991. After completing BUD/S, Jump School, and SEAL Qualification Training, Petty Officer Healy served with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE at NAB Coronado, California, from February 1992 to December 1996, followed by language school at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, from January 1997 to January 1998. His next assignment was with SEAL Team TWO at NAB Little Creek, Virginia, from January 1998 to February 2000, and during this time he deployed aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce (LPD-15) from April to October 1999. Petty Officer Healy served with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE after its move to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from March 2000 to March 2005, and then deployed with SEAL Team TEN to Afghanistan from March 2005 until he was killed in action during Operation Red Wings when the MH-47 Chinook helicopter he was aboard was shot down by an enemy rocket-propelled grenade on June 28, 2005. SCPO Healy was buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California.

His Bronze Star Medal w/Valor Citation reads:

For heroic achievement in connection with combat operations against the enemy while serving as Platoon Leading Chief Petty Officer, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE, while deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM on 28 June 2005. As part of a Quick Reaction Force, Senior Chief Healy was sent to reinforce a Navy SEAL Special Reconnaissance element engaged in a fierce firefight against numerically superior Anti-Coalition Militia near Asadabad, Konar Province, Afghanistan. The Special Reconnaissance element was under siege from enemy fire in extremely rugged and unforgiving terrain. Demonstrating exceptional resolve and fully comprehending the ramifications of the mission, Senior Chief Healy’s element launched aboard a helicopter for direct insertion onto an active battlefield, ready to engage and destroy the enemy in order to protect the lives of their fellow SEALs. While airborne Senior Chief Healy continued working with members of his team to develop the plan of attack to support both a Quick Reaction Force and an urgent execution of the intended deliberate assault. As the helicopter hovered in preparation for a daring fast-rope insertion of the SEALs, the aircraft was struck by an enemy rocket-propelled grenade fired by Anti-Coalition Militia. The resulting explosion and impact caused the tragic and untimely loss of life of all onboard. Senior Chief Healy’s bravery and heroism in the face of severe danger while fighting the Global War on Terrorism was extraordinary. By his courageous actions, zealous initiative, and loyal dedication to duty, Senior Chief Healy reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

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